Dark Blue World (2001)

The friendship of two men becomes tested when they both fall for the same woman.

Director:

Jan Sverák

Writers:

Zdenek Sverák (story), Zdenek Sverák (screenplay)

Stars:

Ondrej Vetchý, Krystof Hádek, Tara Fitzgerald

8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ondrej Vetchý	...	Frantisek Sláma
Krystof Hádek	...	Karel Vojtisek
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Susan Whitmore
Charles Dance	...	Wing Commander Bentley
Oldrich Kaiser	...	Jan Machatý
David Novotný	...	Bedrich Mrtvý
Linda Rybová	...	Hanicka Pecharova
Jaromír Dulava	...	Railwayman Kanka
Lukás Kantor	...	Tom Tom
Radim Fiala	...	Jura Sysel
Juraj Bernáth	...	Jan Gregora
Miroslav Táborský	...	Vilha Houf
Hans-Jörg Assmann	...	Doctor Blaschke
Thure Riefenstein	...	German Officer Hesse
Anna Massey	...	English Teacher

Storyline

March 15, 1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia. Czech and Slovak pilots flee to England, joining the RAF. After the war, back home, they are put in labor camps, suspected of anti-Communist ideas. This film cuts between a post-war camp where Franta is a prisoner and England during the war, where Franta is like a big brother to Karel, a very young pilot. On maneuvers, Karel crash lands by the rural home of Susan, an English woman whose husband is MIA. She spends one night with Karel, and he thinks he's found the love of his life. It's complicated by Susan's attraction to Franta. How will the three handle innocence, Eros, friendship, and the heat of battle? When war ends, what then?

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Plot Keywords:

raf | allies | luftwaffe | nazi germany | parachuting | 

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Genres:

War | Drama | Action | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cost of renting the British Spitfires used in the film was $10,000 an hour.

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Goofs

In one scene set during the 1939 sequence in Czechoslovakia there is a reference to Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun. Braun's very existence, let alone her status as Hitler's mistress, was not widely known to the public until the announcement of their marriage just prior to their dual suicide in 1945.

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Quotes

[after a failed operation]
Franti?ek Sláma: We lost one plane.
[a Spitfire explodes on the airport in the background]
Commander Bentley: Two planes.
Franti?ek Sláma: We were ambushed by Messerschmitts.
Commander Bentley: Caught you by surprise, didn't they. This is an air war, Sir! What did you expect to find there, flies?

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Connections

Referenced in CT na MFF Karlovy Vary 2019: Nabarvené ptáce (2019)

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Soundtracks

Svítá
by Voskovec, Werich and Jezek
Performed by Orchestr Osvobozeného divadla

User Reviews

Best Battle of Britain film so far

This is a brilliant, lavish Czech film from the Sverak father and son team, all about two Czech pilots who flee to England to help the RAF in the Battle of Britain but who also fall out over a woman (the beautiful Tara Fitzgerald). Features some excellent and incredibly realistic aerial combat scenes – probably the best ever and much better than Pearl Harbour or even the film Battle of Britain - and a number of interesting general themes such as love, war, romance, comradeship, loss and servitude. Also, the trials and tribulations of moving abroad and learning a foreign language (though made easier here with the great stalwart Anna Massey).

The film has some great little motifs such as the world famous RAF bullseye device, shown throughout and at one point nicely reflected in the black vinyl record, spinning around cutely (music is another theme of the film, of course). Plus, all of the traditional icons of English life: dimpled beer glasses (unlike the post-war straight glasses used in Pearl Harbour), tea in a nice china tea set in an English country garden (though shot in the Czech Republic?), the mascot dog, a vintage bottle of HP sauce, even a darts board!

Of course, the airfield and surrounding countryside is ridiculously unlike anywhere in the south of England, though the virtuouso aerial sequences make up for this, showing Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters, always synonomous with southern England and the Battle of Britain. But best of all is the sensational musical score from Ondrej Soukup, as good as anything from Hans Zimmer yet all in the tradition of the late, excellent Ron Goodwin who scored the original Battle of Britain film amongst other classic English war films. There's even a nice little cameo role for the – apparently – famous Czech musician and actor (and Kevin Kline lookalike) Oldrich Kaiser, who plays on the piano the title theme song, Dark Blue Sky. Excellent!

It's got a few smutty yet funny little Freudian devices too, such as always showing an inflated condom floating by the ceiling whenever Karel (the callow but brilliant Krystof Hadek) is stuck at the airfield while his love rival and fellow pilot Frantisek (Ondrej Vetchy) is with Susan.

Another great English actor in this film! Charles Dance is of course fine as Wing Commander Bentley.

Highly recommended and well worth watching/hiring – get the DVD with special features (stuff like how they created the dog fights and stuff). Probably the only film ever to combine subtitles with characters speaking English, German, French and Czech all at once.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Tmavomodrý svìt (czech) [Czech Republic]

Country:

Czech Republic UK Germany Denmark Italy France USA

Language:

Czech German English Slovak

Release Date:

17 May 2001 (Czech Republic)

Also Known As:

Dark Blue World

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,541, 30 December 2001

Gross USA:

$258,771

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,381,183

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograf Jan Sverak, Ceská Televize, Dark Blue World

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1